Paddy Power
Encyclopedia
Paddy Power is Ireland’s largest bookmaker
. Offline it conducts business through a chain of licensed betting offices and by operating Ireland's largest telephone betting service. Online
it offers sports betting
, online poker
, online bingo
, online casino
games and spread betting
. The company also markets its services in the UK and is a publicly quoted company, listed on the Irish and UK stock exchange
s.
At the end of 2005 Paddy Power operated 195 outlets (150 in Ireland and 45 in the UK). The total number of employees was 1,374. On 27 May 2008, Paddy Power acquired Northern Ireland independent bookmaker McGranaghan Racing bringing Paddy Power's shop count to 191 in Ireland.
The bookmaker is known for offering odds on controversial markets in order to garner publicity, e.g., in November 2008, 16–1 was laid that U.S. President
Barack Obama
'would not finish' his first term (this was widely interpreted as his odds of assassination).
Paddy Power are sponsors of Swansea City F.C., St. Patrick's Athletic and Old Rutlishians XVA and XVB rugby teams.
After English Premier League new boys Stoke City
lost their opening game of the 2008–09 season
3–1 to Bolton Wanderers
, Paddy Power controversially paid out on bets on them being relegated. When the club finished in mid-table at the end of the season the company took out a full page advert in The Sentinel apologising to the club and its supporters.
In July 2010, the company took the unusual step of refunding bets placed on Felipe Massa
to win the 2010 Germany Grand Prix
, following the notorious "team orders" incident, which led to Fernando Alonso
being allowed to win the race, despite Massa's clear lead.
In October 2011, the company paid out early on New Zealand winning the world cup, four days before the final against France on October 23 2011. The company boss said: 'New Zealand have left all of their opposition so far feeling black and blue and it's inevitable us bookies will be taking a hammering from them on Sunday too - so punters might as well collect now.' The All Blacks were Paddy Power's 4/6 tournament favourites and were 1/9 odds on to win with France 13/2.
paddypowerpoker.com was launched in February 2005. The site allows players to play a number of variations of the game including Texas hold'em, Omaha High and Hi-Lo
, 5 and 7 Card Stud in a ring game
or tournament
structure.
The company sponsors the world's second-longest running No Limit Texas hold'em tournament, the Irish Poker Open
. In 2008, the company also initiated sponsorship of the Irish Winter Festival of Poker
.
In March 2007 Paddy Power Poker became part of the Ipoker
network.
paddypowerpoker.com broadcasts a live stream via satellite to major online and offline events for their players to watch. They also have a chat feature for the players and an interactive blog.
; on an assassination of U.S. President Barack Obama; and on the potential extinction of the polar bear
.
Paddy Power's advertising campaigns have also been criticised; one showed sight-impaired footballers kicking a cat, for which the Advertising Standards Authority
received 400 complaints; another involved Imogen Thomas
alongside a sexually explicit tagline.
Perhaps more poignantly Paddy Power has also been criticised for not paying out on bets with large odds. In 2009 when Shane Lowry
won the Irish Open
Paddy Power stated that it would not pay out on the 3000/1 odds which had initially been offered and instead reached 'an arrangement' with those involved.
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
. Offline it conducts business through a chain of licensed betting offices and by operating Ireland's largest telephone betting service. Online
Online gambling
Online gambling, also known as Internet gambling and iGambling, is a general term for gambling using the Internet.-Online poker:Online poker tables commonly offer Texas hold 'em, Omaha, Seven-card stud, razz, HORSE and other game types in both tournament and ring game structures...
it offers sports betting
Sports betting
Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome.-United States of America:Aside from simple wagers such as betting a friend that one's favorite baseball team will win its division or buying a football "square" for the Super Bowl, sports betting is...
, online poker
Online poker
Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide...
, online bingo
Online bingo
Online bingo is the game of bingo played on the Internet. It is estimated that the global gross gaming yield of bingo was US$500 million in 2006, and it is forecasted to grow to $1,000 million by 2010....
, online casino
Online casino
Online casinos, also known as virtual casinos or Internet casinos, are online versions of traditional casinos. Online casinos enable gamblers to play and wager on casino games through the Internet....
games and spread betting
Spread betting
Spread betting is any of various types of wagering on the outcome of an event, where the pay-off is based on the accuracy of the wager, rather than a simple "win or lose" outcome, such as fixed-odds betting or parimutuel betting. A spread is a range of outcomes and the bet is whether the outcome...
. The company also markets its services in the UK and is a publicly quoted company, listed on the Irish and UK stock exchange
Stock exchange
A stock exchange is an entity that provides services for stock brokers and traders to trade stocks, bonds, and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments, and capital events including the payment of income and...
s.
History
Paddy Power was founded in 1988 by the merger of three existing Irish bookmakers.At the end of 2005 Paddy Power operated 195 outlets (150 in Ireland and 45 in the UK). The total number of employees was 1,374. On 27 May 2008, Paddy Power acquired Northern Ireland independent bookmaker McGranaghan Racing bringing Paddy Power's shop count to 191 in Ireland.
The bookmaker is known for offering odds on controversial markets in order to garner publicity, e.g., in November 2008, 16–1 was laid that U.S. President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
'would not finish' his first term (this was widely interpreted as his odds of assassination).
Paddy Power are sponsors of Swansea City F.C., St. Patrick's Athletic and Old Rutlishians XVA and XVB rugby teams.
After English Premier League new boys Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
lost their opening game of the 2008–09 season
2008–09 in English football
The 2008–09 season was the 129th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Hull City were all playing in the Premier League after winning promotion from the Championship last season. Stoke returned to the top flight after a 23-year absence, while...
3–1 to Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
, Paddy Power controversially paid out on bets on them being relegated. When the club finished in mid-table at the end of the season the company took out a full page advert in The Sentinel apologising to the club and its supporters.
In July 2010, the company took the unusual step of refunding bets placed on Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He finished second in the Drivers' World Championship, and is under contract to race for Scuderia Ferrari until the end of the season.-Early years:...
to win the 2010 Germany Grand Prix
2010 German Grand Prix
The 2010 German Grand Prix was the eleventh round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in Hockenheim, Germany on 25 July 2010. The race was won by Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso after Felipe Massa controversially slowed to let Alonso through into the lead on lap 49...
, following the notorious "team orders" incident, which led to Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....
being allowed to win the race, despite Massa's clear lead.
In October 2011, the company paid out early on New Zealand winning the world cup, four days before the final against France on October 23 2011. The company boss said: 'New Zealand have left all of their opposition so far feeling black and blue and it's inevitable us bookies will be taking a hammering from them on Sunday too - so punters might as well collect now.' The All Blacks were Paddy Power's 4/6 tournament favourites and were 1/9 odds on to win with France 13/2.
Paddy Power Poker
Omaha hold 'em
Omaha hold 'em is a community card poker game similar to Texas hold 'em, where each player is dealt four cards and must make his best hand using exactly two of them, plus exactly three of the five community cards...
, 5 and 7 Card Stud in a ring game
Cash game
Cash games, also sometimes referred to as ring games or live action games, are poker games played with "real" chips and money at stake, usually with no predetermined end time, with players able to enter and leave as they see fit...
or tournament
Poker tournament
A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table , and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on thousands of tables...
structure.
The company sponsors the world's second-longest running No Limit Texas hold'em tournament, the Irish Poker Open
Irish Poker Open
The paddypowerpoker.com Irish Poker Open is the longest running No Limit Texas hold 'em poker tournament in Europe and second longest in the world after the World Series of Poker....
. In 2008, the company also initiated sponsorship of the Irish Winter Festival of Poker
Irish Winter Festival of Poker
The Paddy Power Poker Irish Winter Festival of Poker is an annual poker festival that takes place in Dublin, Ireland. First organised in 2001, the festival is headlined by the Irish Masters main event, a Texas hold'em tournament, and typically takes place over the three days of the October bank...
.
In March 2007 Paddy Power Poker became part of the Ipoker
Playtech
Playtech Ltd. is a gaming software development company founded in 1999. The company provides software for online casinos, online poker rooms, online bingo games, online sports betting, scratch games, mobile gaming, live dealer games and fixed-odds arcade games online.-Playtech gaming software and...
network.
paddypowerpoker.com broadcasts a live stream via satellite to major online and offline events for their players to watch. They also have a chat feature for the players and an interactive blog.
Criticism
Paddy Power has drawn criticism in the past for offering controversial markets such as odds on the first species to be driven to extinction by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of MexicoDeepwater Horizon oil spill
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed unabated for three months in 2010, and continues to leak fresh oil. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry...
; on an assassination of U.S. President Barack Obama; and on the potential extinction of the polar bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
.
Paddy Power's advertising campaigns have also been criticised; one showed sight-impaired footballers kicking a cat, for which the Advertising Standards Authority
Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom)
The Advertising Standards Authority is the self-regulatory organisation of the advertising industry in the United Kingdom. The ASA is a non-statutory organisation and so cannot interpret or enforce legislation. However, its code of advertising practice broadly reflects legislation in many instances...
received 400 complaints; another involved Imogen Thomas
Imogen Thomas
Imogen Mary Thomas is a Welsh glamour model, beauty queen and television personality. She rose to fame in 2003, after winning Miss Wales, and achieved further note in 2006, when she lasted three months on the seventh series of reality TV series Big Brother.-Early life:Imogen was born to Charles...
alongside a sexually explicit tagline.
Perhaps more poignantly Paddy Power has also been criticised for not paying out on bets with large odds. In 2009 when Shane Lowry
Shane Lowry (golfer)
Shane Lowry is an Irish professional golfer.-Amateur career:Lowry was born in Clara, County Offaly, the son of Offaly 1982 All-Ireland winning footballer Brendan Lowry. He attended Athlone Institute of Technology as a scholarship student on the Higher Certificate in Sport and Recreation...
won the Irish Open
Irish Open (golf)
The Irish Open is a professional golf tournament on the European Tour, currently played at the end of July or early August each year. The event has been played in many locations on the island; its current home is the Killarney Golf & Fishing Club in County Kerry in southwestern Ireland...
Paddy Power stated that it would not pay out on the 3000/1 odds which had initially been offered and instead reached 'an arrangement' with those involved.